Saturday, February 27, 2010

Quilts and Nature

Kathie has been doing a "study" of brown on her blog and I had suggested a combination of brown and blue. After taking down Christmas quilts and decorations I hung this little basket quilt up, then on my way back into town this morning I shot a quick photo of the brown and blue of Central Oregon. I like them both!!!




Sorry for all of you buried in snow. I cant help myself when I see the beautiful mountains!!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Christmas in July


I got the final stitches on the binding last night. I pieced this top in July 2009 and after finding the border fabric I was hoping to have it done before Christmas 2009.....Oh well, It's ready when the holidays roll around again!
The friendship star blocks were from a long ago swap and the nine patches were leftovers.
It doesn't have any Christmas fabric in it but the border stripes reminded me of candy canes.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Crazy Quiltin'

This is what I've finished as of this morning. My embroidery still needs a bit of work but I think the more I do the better I'll get. (that's the plan!! LOL)

While at my quilt class I told you the teacher asked us to bring in show and tell. A woman brought in this crazy quilt that her grandmother made. The date embroidered on the quilt was 1885 and the appraiser agreed with that time frame. She did say sometimes dates on these types of quilts do not always represent when it was made but rather to mark an occasion, such as a birth, death or marriage.

Since I'm working on the wool crazy quilt this was a joy to see!

I love the fan and am pretty sure I'll work one into my WCQ.



Look what is attempting to bloom in my backyard! Can spring be far behind?

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Wonky House Number 2

Here's the second of the House party blocks. Love that downstairs window? Hmmm, I hope the contractor doesn't plan on working on any homes!!
Tonye, our teacher had this wonderful ring of bright colors that she uses for applique. How convenient is that?! I ordered one right away and love it already.
I got mine from Superior Threads.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Amazing Little Quilt

Is this little quilt the cutest or what?! Julie at Through the Barn Door made this for ME as a thank you for doing the quilt a long! I am amazed that she would do that!! Amazed and very pleased. It is so beautiful and will be a treasure in my home.
Julie wrote this in her card, "Since making the little cheddar quilt I've progressed to ever smaller and smaller pieces. I've made minis before but not with pieces this tiny. It's all your fault!" I'll take that as a complement.
This whole mini measures approx 14.5x18.5!! That is tiny!! I love the border fabric too as it frames it so nicely. Thank you Julie!
I do not want you all to think that I need any thanks. I had so much fun doing it and seeing your lovely little creations!!

I also finished the pineapple block from Linen Closet Quilts Vicksburg BOM. Whew, now I can work on a funky house.

Monday, February 15, 2010

House Party

Here are my two blocks from quilt class. The bird house on the right was applique practice. She gave us tips and tricks, some I've heard and use, some I've heard and forgot!! I even learned some great new-to-me tricks!
I had a wonderful two day class and learned that I need to do that more often!!
To refresh your memory this was the quilt I saw and loved at the Outdoor Quilt Show last summer. When I saw that she was giving a class I jumped at the chance. Tonye was a wonderful teacher. She was very encouraging, laid back, funny and generous. Here's a few more close ups of the houses.







She called this bottom one double martini because the "flowers" reminded of her of olives!! Isn't that adorable?

Before our "art" lesson I asked her if she had a double martini hidden anywhere!! The answer was a resounding no:)



Sunday, February 14, 2010

Gratitudes and An Art Lesson

Donna (no blog) joined in on the quilt a long and this is what she sent as a "little" thank you. I can't imagine what a big thank you would be!!! These are older reproductions from the Lowell Quilt Museum that she generously shared with me. There are two scrap quilts I've been wanting to make and these will be perfect. Thanks again Donna.

Speaking of Cheddar Cheese and Crackers, the teacher at my quilt class last week asked us to bring in some show and tell for our class on Friday. I brought in my doll quilt. Unbeknownst to me the lady who sat across from me is also an appraiser and as soon as she saw the quilt she asked me if it was old!! Now, she was still across the table when she saw it, so it is possible up close she would have been able to see the reproduction fabrics. Regardless, she loved it and it looked old, which is the look I was going for! They ooed and ahhed (or is that ewed and ahed?)and loved the hand quilting. (Karen Dianne, I guess it wasn't that bad!!) I was so glad I thought to bring it.


This is not a very good photo but I won a drawing from Vivian at Quilts and a Mug. Aren't those patterns adorable? Two of them are kits with the cutest fabrics!! I'm a huge fan of Joined at the Hip patterns. They are so much fun and written really well! I just found out they have a blog. Thank you Vivian!!!


Now, onto the art lesson......not for you, but mine!! The first day of class after lunch Tonye (sounds like Tony) asked us to look through magazines, looking beyond the photos and cut shapes to make a house. (the name of the class was House Party) Seriously I don't remember having art as a kid!!! I remember playing in mud puddles with my brother and making an ABC book in kindergarten and nothing else.

I really had no idea what she meant then she showed us a few of the other ones she did for classes. Girls, I was paralyzed!! I couldn't' see past the beautiful glossy photos. I could feel sweat starting on my brow and my heart picking up the pace. She kept saying this is fun, make it fun, have fun, be creative. I wanted to get that "exercise" over so fast and go back to applique!! It finally seemed to click what she wanted and I started seeing beyond the glossy photo, to see what something could be. I was a happy camper when I added my house to the wall. After I came home that night I thought about that darn house and how I must miss so much because I can't see beyond the obvious.
So, do you want to know which paper house is mine? The center bottom with the colored siding and a yellow background.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The Winners Are......

I had my unbiased hubby draw from a bowl of names... cut the same size as to not offer an advantage to any one person......
Congratulations to all of you for playing along with me! I've had so much fun I may have to do it again later in the year.

Woo-Hoo! To Jan from What a Load A Scrap who was the last entry
And Miriam at Yellow Rose Quilts who was almost last!!!

Please send me addresses and I'll get the packages ready to mail this weekend.

Happy sewing!!

Last Day to Enter Your Quilt

I was so happy to see so many Cheddar Cheese & Crackers quilts! Thank you all for posting your link. I sure hope you have enjoyed seeing the quilts as much as I have.
Today is the last day to enter your link or send me a photo and I'll draw 2 names tonight for the lovely reproduction fabrics shown. I had to add the most amazing (-ly bright) cheddars to the stack!! Seriously, they may need a bit of coffee stain!!! Do you like the way I hid them in the center?

It has been a crazy week so far. We got a new computer system in our auto parts store and yesterday was the first day up and running. We are almost too old to learn new tricks!!! After a late Monday night and a whirlwind day yesterday we are onto day two. We have the computer guy and our salesman here the whole week to hold our hand and train. Shucks, too bad I have a quilt class in the morning!!!

With all that said I'll post the winners of the drawing in the morning although I probably won't be able to get them mailed until Monday.

Have a great day! Looks like sunny skies here in Central Oregon.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Wool Crazy Update

Here's what my Wool Crazy looks like this morning. I'm having a heck of time making the embroidery look flowing like a little branch. Is that because my stitches are too small? Too large? I only have two places so far, one buy the heart in the corner and one by the hand. I took out straight stitches for Pete's sake! How hard can straight stitches be? When I tried to get them flowing to one side (like the letter S) my corners were too harsh and square.
Any tips tossed my way would really be appreciated.

There are now 31 Cheddar scrap quilts to view. (4 of them can be seen under number 27) You have until Wednesday to add a link!! Have you seen them?! Scroll down to view the quilts.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

A Little of This..A Little of That

Thank you for posting your CC&C links! I'm loving every quilt!! Please, even if you are not finished and it's in pieces on your design wall or table, snap a photo and show us. If you do not have a blog please email me the photo and I'll link it up!
Did I mention there's be a random drawing at the end?? C'mon, don't be shy!!!


I have been working on a few projects but nothing really to show.

I pieced the backing for the George Washington quilt, adding the Declaration of Independence, the Martha W block and a few other bits and pieces. I was hoping to possibly get it quilted before President's Day but that is coming too fast!

I've also been machine quilting my Christmas quilt, which means it is set up for quilting and I can't move on to other projects until it's done. Good motivation huh?

I have been doing a little hand applique on the Vicksburg BOM, although I have to admit the Wool Crazy is pulling me in every time I have a few minutes for handwork. I told myself I'd do 10 minutes of applique a day on the BOM, then I can work on the wool applique.


I can't leave you without a photo so here is a few fabrics I've pulled out for my class next week. Looks like I'll need to purchase a few more brights while I'm there. This is a little out of my comfort zone, but I'm ready for it!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Add Your Cheddar Cheese & Cracker Quilt!



It's quilt show time! Here is the original vintage quilt that we loved so much. Please add the link to the post on your blog, not your blog address. We want your quilt to be easy to find. If you aren't finished that's OK, post it anyway.
If you don't have a blog please send me a photo and I'll post it.

I'll have this open for a week to show us your quilt, then I'll have a few random prizes!!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Wool Crazy

 

HPIM6094

I got a chance to get started on this over the weekend. It’s a bit of a learning curve at this point. I have a few more applique shapes I want to get stitched down then I’ll start on a bit of embroidery.

I’m having internet connection problems and am using Windows Live Writer through my new netbook. Another  learning curve!